> Any recommendations for a GPS ... I was given a GPSr (r is for receiver) unit as a gift. It was a Magellan Maestro 3100. I've been meaning to purchase a GPSr as another gadget to play with, so I appreciated the gift.
Mapping, touch screen, voice, etc are fine. You can zoom in/out in the map display. It has a pretty large screen. You can also change the volume or mute it (useful, if the voice is beginning to annoy you). You can ask it to give you routes based on criteria such as fastest, shortest, avoid tolls, etc. Re-routing function works great (ie: it doesn't insist on trying to get back to the original route). It is fine if you give it the address and ask for directions, but I've noticed that it is not so good about telling me the names of the streets coming up when driving around. By the time I see the name, I'm almost passing that street, specially in small neighborhoods. Most of the time I drive to known places (ie: work, home, shops ...). As such, I really don't need directions, but what I do need is traffic info. Mine doesn't give that and I have not used such a device to see how well that service works. If that service is good, I can see such a GPSr being useful during _every_ car trip. Another reason I wanted a GPSr toy was to check out geocaching (see www.geocaching.com I've found that to be quite an enjoyable hobby). Maestro 3100 GPSr gives you the coordinates in degrees, minutes and seconds (ie: N 39 10' 02" W 077 13' 45"). But, that "resolution" is not sufficient, specially if you are trying to find urban micro caches. Cache waypoints are usually given as in N 39 10.035' W 077 13.752'. Moreover, my Magellan can't take a waypoint coords and show a big arrow saying "that-a-way." I ended up purchasing a Gamin eTrex Legend HCx for geocaching. It also comes with a base map and it can give you turn-by-turn directions. However, since it uses two AA batteries (whereas the Magellan is plugged into the cigarette lighter) I don't use it for mapping. eTrex Legend says it lasts for about 25 hrs on two AA batteries. What this means to someone purchasing a new GPSr is that various units have various capabilities and limitations. Borrow one from a friend for a few days and see what features you really need and what you can live without. Also, one unit's mapping feature may be better than another's. ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
